Scientists Confirm Solid Inner Core on Mars
(MENAFN) A recent investigation collaboratively carried out by Chinese and US researchers revealed that Mars possesses a solid inner core, challenging the long-standing notion that such a structure was absent.
Published in Nature journal, this first concrete evidence of an inner core contests prevailing theories regarding the red planet’s formation and cooling process.
By examining seismic data collected by NASA’s now-retired InSight mission, scientists identified a solid core approximately 600 km (373 miles) in radius, constituting nearly 18% of Mars’ total radius—a proportion comparable to Earth’s inner core.
This discovery offers a crucial reference point for understanding the thermal and chemical characteristics of Mars.
Nicholas Schmerr, a planetary seismologist at the University of Maryland, College Park, stated that the results “helped to fill a major gap in the general understanding of Mars’ deep interior.”
The findings also rekindle the long-debated theory that Earth was not the only planet to have once experienced plate tectonics.
According to the report, these characteristics suggest “a concentration of distinct light elements in the inner core, segregated from the outer core through core crystallization.”
Furthermore, the connection between inner core formation and the evolution of Mars’ magnetic field “could provide insights into dynamo generation across planetary bodies,” the study added.
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